Electric-railway conduit



(No Model.) 4 Sheets-Sheet 1.

, GET-WOODS.

ELECTRIC RAILWAY VGQNDUI T, No. 509,065. Patented N0v.Z1, 1893.

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:(N0 Model.) 4 SheetsSheet 3.

. G. T. WOODS, ELECTRIC RAILWAY GONDUIT.

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(No Model.) 4 Sheets-Sheet 4.

G. T. WOODSJ ELEOTRIO RAILWAY OONDUIT.

No. 509,065. Patented NQV. 21, 1893.

fizz/leased 'fzzvezzfar v QM QM 44 E n mun. u'ruuaRA WASNINGTON u c fUNITED STATES. PAT NT OFFICE.

GRANVILLE T. WOODS, ORNFW YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNOR TO THE UNIVERSALELECTRIC COMPANY OF THE CITY OF NEW YORK.

ELECTRIC-RAILWAY CONDUIT.

SPECIFICATION formingipart of Letters Patent No. 509,065, dated November21, 1893.

App w d 1 1 1 wed $eptemher 25, 1893- serial 110.486.4533. (N0 model.)Patented in Canada February To all whom it may coiwernk I densation ofmoisture thereon. The box is Be it known that I, GRANVILLE T. WOODS,completely charged with oil and the contacts a citizen of the UnitedStates, residing in New therein through which the connection of theYork, county and'State of New York, have motor on the car with the maincircuitis cominvented certain new and useful Improvepleted, are immersedin oil. 55

ments in Electrical Railways, (for which I In order to obviatethenecessity for examihave received Letters Patent in Canada, N0. nationand periodic filling of the boxes Icon- 4=l,803, dated February 4,1893,) of which the nect each box with apipe system containing followingis a specification. oil under pressure. This not only insures Myinvention relates to that class of electhat the boxes shall becompletely filled at 60 tric railroads having underground conduits alltimes, but the pressure causes the oil to in which the contact devicesare contained penetrate the porous'medium of the boxesand and operated.maintain their exterior parts and connections The object of theinvention is to provide a constantly covered with oil. In connection 15system that may be economically installed with this organization Iemploy a brush or 65 and operated and in which loss of current duecontact device carried by the car that always to leakage, as well as theelement of danger insures the opening of the circuit at the brush wherehigh tension currents are employed, before the circuit can be opened atthe conmay be practically eliminated. To this end tacts within theboxes. I thus prevent the I employ a conduit of any ordinaryconstrucformation of a spark within the boxes and the 70 tion that mayas usual be located between the consequent destruction of the contactsand rails of the track. Within this conduit or carbonization of the oil,so that when the syssuitablycontiguousthereto theinsulated lead tem isonce installed, the boxes and circuit or leads of the circuit may belocated. At inconnections therein will require no attention tervals Isupport within the conduit closed for an indefinite period, while theswitch arm 5 contact boxes with each of which the circuit of the box andthe brush carried by the car is connected, the connection being led intomay be renewed or repairedas occasion may the interior of the box to acontact plate or require. 1 device therein, all exterior connectionsbeing My invention, as well as the details of concompletely insulated.The boxes are prostruction, is more fully hereinafter set forth, 8ovided with a projecting insulated switch arm and also shown in theaccompanying drawor contact closing device normally lying in ings inwhich the path of a brush or contact plate carried by Figure 1 is a rearelevation of the car and the car, by means of which the insulated conaview of the track, roadbed, and conduit in 3 5 tacts within the box arebrought together and cross-section Fig. 2 a vertical central section 8 5the circuit completed through the motor on through one of the boxes;Fig. 3 a bottom the car. There are therefore no uninsulated view thereofwit-h the bottom plate removed; or exposed conductors within theconduit, Fig. 4 a diagram of the system; Fig. 5 a deand the motor on thecar is only connected tail diagrammatic view illustrating the ar- 40with the circuit while the brush carried thererangement and action ofthe brush or contact 90 by is hearing against the switch arms of theplate carried by the car; Fig. 6 a transverse contact boxes. 7 There is,therefore, no possilongitudinal section through such a brush; bility ofleakage except during this brief, and Fig. 7 a face view thereof.period; and to prevent leakage during sucli Of course in this systemboth leadsor sides 5 time each box is charged with oil and is proof themain circuit may be insulated and con- 5 vided with a porous portion orwall through nected with opposite series of boxes in the which thecontained oil gradually percolates conduit as above suggested, or theremay be keeping the exterior of the box and the parts one insulated lead,one series of boxes and connected therewith coated with a layer or thetrack may constitute the other side of the film of oil that prevents thedeposit or concircuit.

' material. 5

.able material, fibrous or otherwise.

In Fig. 1, A indicates the hanger on the car carrying thebrush orcontact plate B, and. O 0 indicate a pair of contact boxes arranged onopposite sides of the conduit and supported upon the wall thereof inanysuitable manner, D being the switch or contact arms of the boxesagainst which the brush 13 works.

In Fig. 4, G is the generator and G G the insulated leads or sides ofthe circuit thereof. Each box 0 is connected with the circuit by aninsulated connection 9 g.

P indicates a pump and P P the opposite sides of a pipe system intowhich oil or other fluid insulating material is forced under pressure bythe pump. The interior of each box 0 is connected with each side of thepipe system by a branch pipep, which may be provided with a cook 19.

B is the brush carried by the'car, D the switch arms of the boxes and Mthe motor on the car.

The boxes are shown in detail in Figs. 2 and 3. They may consist of acasting 0 open at both ends and having about midway of its length aninternally projecting flange c and two hubs or tubular projections, one19 for the connection of the oil pipe 19, and another g for theconnection of the insulated branch conductor g. One half of the box,that is, the upper half as seen in Fig. 2 may be annular while the lowerhalf below the flange 0 may be semi-circular on one side and have aright angular extension 6 from the other. This end of the box may beclosed by a cap or lid 0 tightly secured by means of bolts passingthrough lugs or cars thereon or otherwise. The projecting hub g is shownas formed upon the square projection at the box and instead of extendingout at right angles from the wall thereof it is preferably curveddownwardly as indicated The interior bore thereof is preferably largerthan the opening 9 in the end thereof and the opening g leading into thebox, so that when the insulated conductor 9 is inserted asphaltum orother heated insulating material 9 may be poured in. Of course anysuitable way of leading in the conductor and sealing the entrance may beadopted. The end of the conductor within the box carries or is connectedto a contact plate H having two projecting ends it between which works acontact armI carried on the end of a rod or shaft I ex .t nding upthrough the box. This rod may follows: Beneath the flange cis placed aplate be supported and provided with a bearing as K of wood or otherinsulating material. Above the flange is a similar plate K, on which isplaced a relatively thick washer or mass of porous insulating material Ksu ch for instance, asasbestus, earthenware or other suit- Abovethewasher is another plate K of insulating A flanged sleeve L is passedthrough the plates K, K, K K the flange abut-ting against the lowerplate K, and is provided at the top with a screw clamp nut als.

L. The rod 1 has its hearing within the sleeve L and upon its inner endcarries the contact arm I which is provided with a tubular hub fittingupon and secured to the end of the shaft and having a flange betweenwhich and the flange of the sleeve L, a packing washer 2' is placed.This is for the purpose of preventing an excessive leak of oil along theshaft or rod I. Thelaterally projecting switch or contact arm D may becomposed, as shown of two plates of metal lying against each other andsecured to the outer end of the shaft I. These plates are preferably ofspring metal, such for instance as tempered brass, copper or othermetal, or compositions of met- Its short end is connected with one endof a spiral springenveloping the shaft and having its other endconnected with the clamp nut L. When therefore the switcharm D isoperated as presently described, there are two yielding or resilientconnections, one the arm D itself, the other the. spiral spring, and athird may, if desired be provided by also making the interior contactarm I elastic. This prevents the jarring of the box, its supports andelectrical connections when the brushon the car comes in contact withand leavesthe switch arm D. Oil from the connection p is introduced intothe large end of the box and finding its way through and past theinsulating plates K, K, percolates, through the porous medium K and pastthe plate K to the top of the box. I prefer that there shall be anaccumulation of the oil here, and for this purpose the upper edge orwall of the box is caused to project above the level of the clamping nutL and also preferably above theend of the sleeve L, so that there is aperfect protection against moisture entering along the bearing of theshaft I, and a thorough lubrication of its bearing is insured.Thejseeping of the oil up through the box is preferably so controlledthat there is but a slight discharge over the edge of the box that willbe only sufficient to keep the walls and bottom of the box and theinsulation of the conductor 9 coated with a suitablefilm of oil. Areceptacle may, however, if desired be placed within the conduit beneatheach box to collect such dripping of the oil as may occur, and, fromwhich the collected oil may from time totime be pumped or otherwisewithdrawn.

The details of construction which I have shown and described aresuitable practical and efficient, but I do not limit myself to them asobviously they might be varied in many ways. The strain of the spiralspring around the shaft 1 that occurs when the arm D is struck andstrained to one side by the brush on the car should preferably be in adirection tending to screw up the nut.- When thus arranged there is noliability of the nut becoming loose. The nut may also be pinned to thewasher K As shown in Fig. 4 the boxes on opposite sides of the conduitare arranged in alternation and the brush B is of a sufficient length tobe always in contact with IIO atleast two of the switch arms Donopposite sidesof the conduit. I prefer as shown in the'diagram to employopposite series of boxes and to insulate both leads of the circuit, butthe principles of my invention may as before stated be employed'in asystem where the rails form one side of the circuit.

In such an organization the brush B should be long enough to be alwaysin contact with the two switch arms D. The character of the brushthat Iprefer to employ is shown in detail in Figs. {5, 6, and 7, in whichrepresents one of'the rails'of the track and gene of the walls of theconduit slot. A

A are the hangers from the cars carrying the brush B, O the boxes, Dtheir contact arms, G one ofthe insulated leads of the circuitand g theinsulated branches leading into the boxes. The pipe connections for theoil circulation are omitted. In this case the brush is composed of abody of insulating material b, upon which the contact plate b connectedwith the motor 'on the car is mounted. The ends of the plate 'bf do notextend to the end of the body b, but there is at each end of the brush aface of insulating material as seen in Fig. 5, extending beyond the endof the contact plate I). These insupressed against one of the contactplates h.

of the main line contact. The brush contact 7 b establishes a goodrubbing connection with the switch arms D and the circuit is completedthrough the motor on the car. As the brush leaves a switch arm D the armpasses off of the contactplate b with an abrupt snap motion on to theinsulated face extending beyond the end of the contact. The main circuitis therefore opened at this point, and the connection within the boxcannot be broken until the switch arm runs ofi of the insulation 1). Of

course the operation is precisely the same where boxes are arranged oneach side of the conduit, the brushes B then having contact plates b oneach side of and insulated end portions on each side as alreadydescribed. In the event of'the backing of the c'ar'the switch arms D, asseen for instance in Fig. 4:, that are bearing against the brush contactplates b will maintain their positions, as is obvious, and there willtherefore be no openingof the circuit within the boxes, the switch armsbeing still held in their positions after they have run off on totheinsulated end 'por- Q tion I). Were itnot for the fact that theinsnlated part of the brush extends beyond the contact plates, theremightbe a breakingof 'the circuit within the box after the brush haspassed from the switch arm and the arm by reason of its resiliencyfollows up the receding brush. If at this time the arm were inelectrical connection with the contact'plate of the brush the circuitwould first be open at the contacts within the box, but with theorganization described, the circuit will have already been open when theswitch arm leaves the contact plate of the brush and bears upon theinsulationend thereof. By providing a brushtherefor with an insulatedextension beyond each end of the contact plate the circuit must alwaysbe broken at the brush and there is no liability of the circuit firstbeing broken in the box. In order to prevent'wear and maintain thesurfaces of the switch arm clean and well polished, the ends of thebrush may have inserted into the insulation metal plates 19 which arehowever, entirely insulated from the contact plates of the brush. .Wherethe boxes are arranged on both sides of the conduit the brushes shown inFigs. 5, 6 and 7 would of course have contact plates on eachside. Thisconstruction is indicated in the diagram Fig. 4: In my organization theboxes are-arranged at the side 'of the conduit and not beneath the slot.The contact devices of each box are controlled by a partiallyrotatableshaft having its bearing in the box. This enables me to practicallyhermetically close the box so far as the shaft opening is concernedsince it may be very efiectivelYpacked. The switch contact arm thatoperates the shaft is itself operated by the vertical face of the shoeworking against the vertical face of the head or end of the switch arm.There is therefore little liability of such contact faces becomingcovered with mud, dirt, snow or ice, and they are kept burnished by therubbingcontact between them. r Y

I claim as my invention- 1. In an electric railroad system, thecombination of the insulated lead or leads of the main circuit, a seriesof boxes having interior contact devices with which the main circuit isconnected, each box being charged with oil or other insulating fluid inwhich the contacts are immersed and' havi-ng a porous medium orpo'rtionthrough which the oil exudes and coats the exterior of thebox'and its connections, and a switch arm carried by the box andcontrolling the inclosed maincircuit contacts and adapted to be operatedby a conta'ct brush or device carried by the'passing car.

2. In an electric railroad system, the combination of the lead of themain circuit, a conduit, a series of closed boxes arrangedtherein,contact devices within each box with which said lead is connected, ashaft having its bearings in the box and carrying'a contact arm withinthe box that works against said contact devices when the shaft ispartially rotated, the switch arm carried by the outer IIO end of saidshaft adaptedto be operatedby main circuit through the motor thereon, a

pipe system for distributing oil or other insulating fluid underpressure and connections between saidsystem and the interior of theboxes. I

3. In an electric railway, the combination with the track and slottedconduit, of a series of closed boxes arranged therein to one side of theslot and containing an insulated contact device with which thelead ofthe circuit is connected, an upright shaft having its bearing in eachbox, the shaft being partially rotatable tocomplete the circuit fromsaid contact devicethrough the shaft, a switch contact arm projectinglaterally from each shaft toward the center of the conduit and having a.vertical contact face, and a contact shoe having an elongated smoothvertical contact facecarried by a car, the organization being such thatthe switch contact arms are struck by the elongated vertical face of thecontact shoe and the shafts partially rotated, thereby successivelycompleting the circuit. through the motor on thecar, substantially asset forth.

4. In an electric railroad system, the combination of the lead or leadsof the main circuit, a conduit, a series of boxes arranged therein,contact devices within the boxes, with which said lead or leads areconnected, the switch or contact arms of the boxes adapted to beoperated by the brush of the passing car to complete the main circuitthrough the motor thereon, a pipe system for distributing oil or otherinsulating fluid under pressure and connections between said system andthe interior of the boxes, each box having a porous medium or portionthrough which-the oil filtrates and coats the exteriors of the boxes andtheir connections.

5. In an electric railroad system, the combination with the conduit of aseries of boxes located therein and containing oil or other insulatingfluid therein under pressure, the insulated lead or leads of the maincircuit connected with contact devices within the boxes submerged in theoil, and contact controlling devices adapted to be actuated ,by thebrush or contact device on the passing car to complete the circuitthrough the motor thereon, each box havinga porous medium or portionthrough which the oil filtrates and coats the exterior of the box andits connections.

6. In an electric railroad system, the combination of the lead or leadsof the main circuit, theconduit, a series of closed boxes arrangedtherein having interior contact. devices connected with the lead orleads, laterally projecting yielding switch arms, and a brush carried bythe car, the brush having a contact face or faces against which theswitch.

' arms work and insulation extending beyond the ends of the contactfaces for the purpose set forth. v

7. In an electric railroad system, the combi nation of the lead or leadsof the main circuit, the conduit, a series of closed boxes arrangedtherein having interior contact devices connected with the lead orleads, laterally projecting yielding switch arms, and the brush carriedby the car, the brush having a contact face or faces against which theswitch arms work and insulation extending beyond the ends of the contactfaces, and the boxes being filled with oil, for the purpose set forth.

8. In an electric railroad system, the combination of the lead or leadsof the main circuit, the conduit, a series of closed boxes arrangedtherein having interior contact devices connected with the lead orleads, laterally projecting yielding arms, and the brush carried by thecar, the brush having a contact face or faces against which the switcharms work and insulation extending beyond theends of the contact faces,and the boxes filled with oil, and having a porous medium or portionthrough which the oil filtrates and coats the exteriors of the boxesandtheir connections, for the purpose set forth.

9. The combination substantially as set forth, of a conduit, the boxestherein having the yielding switch arms D and the brush to be carriedbythe car having a contact plate I) which works against and makescontact with the switch arms and insulation extending beyond the ends ofthe contact plate.

10. The combination, substantially as set forth, of a conduit, the boxestherein having the yielding switch arms D and the brush to be carried bythe car having a contact plate I) which works against and makes contactwith the switch arms and insulation extending beyond the ends of thecontact plate, the insulation extension being below or insideof theplane of the surface of the contact.

11. The combination of the shell of the box, having two projections orcoupling connections, one 19 for the connection of an oil supply pipeandone g for the leading in of a circuit conductor, the contact plateconnected with the end of the conductorwithin the box, the contact armworking against said plate, the shaft or rod to which it isattached, itsbearing, the porous packing surrounding the bearing and closing the endsof the box, and the switch arm D carried by the shaft.

12. The combination substantially as set forth, of the box shell, theinwardly projecting flange c, the plates of insulating material andporous packing, the flanged sleeve, the shaft therein, the interiorcontact arm carried by the shaft, the switch arm carried by its outerend, the clamp nut on the screw and the spring connected with the switcharm and the clamp nut.

13. The combination of the shell of the box, means for maintaining asupply of oil therein, the vertical shaft or rod its bearin g within thebox and the switch arm carried by the upper end of the shaft the edge ofthe box being extended up beyond the bearing. of the shaft to formareceptacle and ,oil filling said receptacle, all substantially as andfor the purpose set forth.

14. The combination of the box, the yielding or spring switch arm, D,its rod or shaft, having its hearings in the box the spring that holdsthe shaft in:the normal position, the contact arm carried by the shaftwithin the box, and-the contact plate within the box to which theinsulated circuit wire is connected.

15. In an electric railroad, the combination v of the contact devicesarranged at intervals between the brush and switch arm, the brushconsisting of insulating material and a contact plate beyond both endsof which the insulation extends, whereby as the car passes the circuitis first broken at the switch arm and brush and then at the said contactdevices, substantially as set forth.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto subscribed my name.

. GRANVILLE T. WOODS. Witnesses:

FRANK S. OBER,. -EDWARD O. DAVIDSON.

